Spend in Palau

Palau is not cheap. It is not Australia stupid-expensive, but it isn’t Cambodia, either.

Bear math is my favorite measure of cost. In Palau, you will drop about US $2 for a Corona at a store, and US $1.50 or so for a local or Japanese beer. That’s about twice as much as the States. The comparison carries forward into everything else.

For lodging, you can get a livable room at the Penthouse Hotel in Koror for US $110 a night — the same room you could get at a Best Western in the States for US $75 or less. For the next step up — a nice Koror bungalow at Carolines, or a Dolphin Bay bungalow on Peleliu — you are talking in the ballpark of US $250 a night.

Meal costs are on-par with US costs. Think US $40 for a mid-range lunch or dinner for two, with one beer each.

The Palau government is also a great nickel-and-dimer of your pocketbook. Going to the Rock Islands? That will be US $100 each. Going to do some fishing? That will be US $20, Sir. Want to tour the historic sites in Arai State? That will be US $25 each. Peleliu? US $15 each, please. Leaving Palua? Well the departure tax and “green fee” will be US $50 each, thank you very much.

So, go to Palau thinking in terms of thousands of US dollars, not hundreds.

Access to you money is easy in Koror. There are plenty of banks, like bank of Hawaii, and plenty of ATMs. Most establishments take credit cards.

On Peleliu, everything was a cash-only transaction. Bring plenty.

Some cost examples:
– Local boat between Koror and Peleliu: US $15 per person, each way, plus fee for each bag
– Hotel-arranged boat ride between Koror and Peleliu: US $60 per person
– Breakfast at the Penthouse Hotel in Koror: US $24, not including a tip
– Taxi into and around Koror: US $5, not including tip
– Shuttle from Airport to a Koror Hotel: US $20 – US $30
– Load of laundry at a hotel: US $5 – US $10
– Bottle of Hana Bay rum: US $25
– 1.5 liter bottle of water in a Koror store: US $1
– 0.5 liter bottle of water in a Peleliu store: US $1

The total cost of a fifteen-day, fourteen-night stay — six days and five nights of which were spent kayaking, camping, and eating food we brought from home — was just shy of US $6,600.00. That figure includes two round-trip airline tickets from Los Angeles (US $2,000.00), airport parking (US $200.00), and money spent on airport meals while traveling to and from Palau.

Public boat from Peleliu to Koror: US $37.00 (US $15.00 each person, plus luggage fees) Breakfast at Penthouse Hotel: US $30.00 (includes US $6.00 tip) Taxi to Penthouse Hotel from Koror boat landing: US $7.00 (includes a US $2.00 tip) Taxi to Marine Resources Department: US $5.00 Fee for government shell permits: US […]

Room at Dolphin Bay Resort (includes meals): US $230.00 Bicycle rental: US $10.00 (US $5 each, half day) Beers at hotel: US $40.00 Snacks at hotel: US $3.00 Water and cola at a local store: US $9.00 TOTAL: US $392.00

Room at Dolphin Bay Resort (includes meals): US $230.00 Laundry at Dolphin Bay Resort: US $5.00 Bike rental: US $10.00 (US $5 per bike, half day) Donation at Peleliu war museum: US $10.00 Snacks and water and coke and beer at local store: US $24.00 Peleliu land tour permits: US $30.00 (US $15.00 […]

Breakfast: US $24.80 (includes a $5 tip) Beach access at resort to north of Koror: US $20.00 Snacks and beer: US $14.35 Two Rock Island permits that include Jellyfish Lake: US $200.00 (US $100 each) Fishing permit: US $20.00 Commercial photo permit: US $100.00 Room at Penthouse Hotel: US $109.20 Rental car: US […]

Breakfast: US $23.80 (includes a $4 tip) Arai State tourist site fees: US $50.00 (US $25 each) Water and snacks: US $11.44 Beer at a local store, six Coronas at US $2 each: US $12.00 Lunch with two beers at a beach resort north of Koror (one beer each): US $44.80 Use of […]